Red Sox Outright Joely Rodriguez
The Red Sox have sent reliever Joely Rodríguez outright to Triple-A Worcester, tweets MassLive’s Chris Cotillo. Boston had designated the left-hander for assignment over the weekend.
Rodríguez signed a minor league deal with the Sox over the offseason. Boston carried him on the Opening Day roster to keep him from opting out and retesting free agency. That didn’t work as the team hoped, as he surrendered 12 runs (eight earned) over 11 innings. Rodríguez ran an 11:2 strikeout-to-walk ratio and induced grounders on over 55% of batted balls, but the Red Sox clearly weren’t overly bullish on his chance to get back on track.
It is the second straight season in which Rodríguez struggled over an 11-inning stint for Boston. Oblique, shoulder and hip injuries kept him to just 11 appearances a year ago. Rodríguez also allowed eight earned runs in that season, which came on the heels of a $2MM major league free agent deal. He divided the 2021-22 seasons between the Rangers and the two New York franchises, combining for a 4.56 ERA across 107 appearances.
Rodríguez has the requisite three years of major league service to decline an outright assignment, but he has not crossed the five-year threshold necessary to retain his salary if he does so. If Rodríguez accepts the assignment, he’ll join Lucas Luetge as a veteran non-roster southpaw in Worcester. Boston has Brennan Bernardino and Cam Booser in the big league bullpen. They acquired Bailey Horn from the White Sox earlier this week. He’s on the 40-man but was immediately optioned to Worcester and hasn’t yet pitched in the big leagues.
White Sox Outright Deivi Garcia
White Sox right-hander Deivi Garcia passed through waivers unclaimed following this weekend’s DFA, the team announced Thursday afternoon. He’s been assigned outright to Triple-A Charlotte. Garcia has not been previously outrighted and does not have three years of big league service time, so he can’t reject the assignment. He’ll remain in the White Sox organization but no longer occupy a spot on the 40-man roster.
Once ranked among the game’s very best pitching prospects, the now-24-year-old Garcia (25 later this month) has seen his stock diminish amid shaky upper minors performances and some injuries. Garcia began to encounter significant command issues back in 2022, when he walked nearly 16% of his opponents in Triple-A. His command has yet to rebound, as evidenced by a career 14.3% walk rate in parts of four Triple-A seasons and a glaring 17% walk rate in 29 big league frames over the past two seasons.
The Yankees designated Garcia for assignment following the trade deadline last season, The rebuilding White Sox claimed the once-touted righty off waivers after the fact, but he’s struggled in his new environs as well. Garcia pitched 14 innings out of the Chicago bullpen this season and allowed 16 runs (11 earned) on 16 hits and 11 walks against 15 strikeouts. He also tossed four wild pitches along the way. Now that he’s passed through waivers, Garcia can head to Triple-A and attempt to get his command back on track.
Mychal Givens Opts Out Of Marlins Deal
Veteran right-handed reliever Mychal Givens triggered an opt-out clause in his deal with the Marlins, MLBTR has learned. Givens was granted his release and is now a free agent.
Givens inked his deal with the Fish back in mid-March. He only got into a pair of spring games after signing and opened the year with the club’s Triple-A affiliate in Jacksonville. He showed some early rust when he was tagged for five runs in 1 1/3 innings in his first outing but has righted the ship of late; he’s allowed one run with an 8-to-1 K/BB ratio in his past 5 2/3 innings. Givens is still sitting on an unsightly 7.94 ERA overall through 11 1/3 frames after that rough start.
The 33-year-old Givens spent the 2023 season back with his original Orioles club, but knee and shoulder injuries limited him to just four big league innings (plus another 15 rehab innings in the minors). The right-hander’s original run with Baltimore was quite good, however. From 2015-20, Givens was a mainstay in the Birds’ bullpen, pitching to a 3.32 ERA with a 29.6% strikeout rate and 9.4% walk rate over 336 innings. The O’s, then mired in a lengthy rebuild, traded Givens to the Rockies at the 2020 deadline as his initial window of club control was drawing to a close.
Givens would ultimately pitch for five clubs over a three-year period from 2020-22, suiting up for the O’s, Rockies, Reds, Cubs and Mets. The overall output was quite similar to his time in Baltimore. In 134 2/3 innings while bouncing around the league via a series of one-year contracts and trades, Givens posted a 3.41 ERA with a 26.4% strikeout rate and 10.4% walk rate.
Overall, Givens has pitched in 425 big league games and tallied 461 2/3 innings of 3.47 ERA ball. He’s a fly-ball pitcher, but not to extreme levels, and has whiffed 28.2% of his career opponents against a 10% walk rate. With 85 holds and 31 saves under his belt, he’s no stranger to working in high-leverage spots. Givens’ heater was down about three miles per hour in last year’s tiny sample, though he also surely wasn’t pitching at full strength in that brief four-inning stint on the mound. Now back on the open market, he’ll give bullpen-needy teams a veteran option to consider when pondering ways to deepen their relief corps and/or make some changes amid early-season struggles.
Giants Recall Randy Rodriguez For MLB Debut
The Giants announced Thursday that right-handed reliever Randy Rodriguez has been recalled from Triple-A Sacramento. Fellow righty Daulton Jefferies was optioned to Sacramento in his place. It’ll be Rodriguez’s MLB debut if he gets into a game.
Rodriguez, 24, is out to a terrific start in Sacramento, tossing 10 2/3 innings and yielding only a pair of runs on seven hits and four walks with 10 strikeouts. He entered the 2024 season ranked 11th among Giants prospects at FanGraphs and 28th at MLB.com. Both outlets praise him as a potential big league reliever, with FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen and Travis Ice being a bit more bullish on Rodriguez’s athleticism improving his chances of eventually improving currently shaky command.
Rodriguez misses plenty of bats with an upper-90s heater and hard slider, but he also walked 14% of his Double-A opponents last year and turned in a mammoth 20.7% walk rate in a sample of 37 2/3 innings following a move to Triple-A. He’s more than halved that walk rate in his first 10 appearances of the ’24 season (9.5%). That’s an encouraging trend, particularly since Rodriguez’s window to hone his command and cement himself as a big leaguer is dwindling — despite only just being called up for his debut. The Giants selected him to the 40-man roster following the 2021 season, meaning Rodriguez is already in the last of three minor league option years. He’ll be out of options in 2025.
Overall, Rodriguez has a 3.75 ERA in 261 2/3 minor league innings, but nearly all of his success has come at the Low-A, High-A and Double-A levels. This early stretch in 2024 is his first run of success in Triple-A. He’ll give the Giants a fresh arm following a bullpen game that saw them use five different pitchers to get through eight innings in a road loss to the Red Sox.
Julio Urias Pleads No Contest To Domestic Battery Charge
Former Dodgers left-hander Julio Urias pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor domestic battery charge yesterday, per a report from the Los Angeles City News Service. The L.A. City Attorney’s office tells the City News Service that Urias will be placed on 36 months of probation, complete 30 days of community service, complete a year-long domestic violence counseling program, pay a fee to a domestic violence fund, pay restitution to the victim and abide by a protective order. He’s also forbidden from possessing any weapons. A second domestic battery charge, one count of injuring a spouse, one count of assault and one count of false imprisonment were dropped as a contingency of Urias’ no-contest plea to the charge of misdemeanor battery.
Back in 2019, Urias was suspended 20 games under the league’s joint domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy but was never criminally charged. He was arrested a second time in Sept. 2023 after another wave of allegations arose when he was allegedly captured on cell phone video in a public altercation with a woman following an LAFC Major League Soccer match. He was released from custody after posting a $50,000 bond.
Documents from the District Attorney’s Office back in January indicated that Urias “pushed the victim against a fence and pulled her by the hair or shoulders” but ultimately referred Urias to the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office for misdemeanor charges rather than felony charges. Last month, the L.A. City Attorney brought five misdemeanor charges: one count of spousal battery, two counts of domestic battery involving a dating relationship, one count of assault and one count of false imprisonment.
With criminal proceedings drawing to a close, Major League Baseball will now presumably move to conclude its own investigation into the matter. MLB placed Urias on paid administrative leave just two days after the incident took place. That’s standard practice for players who are being investigated under the joint domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy — and administrative leave in and of itself is not considered punitive in nature. However, in the event that criminal charges are brought forth and/or that the league’s own investigation determines that a suspension is warranted, any pay accrued while on leave can be rescinded.
If and when the league follows Urias’ no-contest plea with a suspension, he’ll become the first player in history to receive multiple suspensions under the joint domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy. Urias became a free agent following the 2024 season and remains unsigned.
Orioles Reinstate Kyle Bradish, Designate Yohan Ramírez
The Orioles announced today that right-hander Kyle Bradish has been reinstated from the injured list and will start today’s game. To open a roster spot for him, righty Yohan Ramírez has been designated for assignment.
Bradish has been on the injured list all season and will be making his season debut today. While missing more than a month to start the year is less than ideal, it’s essentially a best-case scenario when considering where things stood a few months back. Bradish was diagnosed with a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow in the middle of February, which naturally led to worries about Tommy John surgery and an absence of more than a year.
But the righty receive a platelet-rich plasma injection and began a throwing program shortly thereafter. A few weeks later, general manager Mike Elias said that subsequent MRIs had shown “accelerated healing” of the ligament. Bradish began a rehab assignment a couple of weeks ago and made three starts, tossing 3 innings, then 3 1/3, then 5 frames.
Considering the scary diagnosis from the winter, seeing Bradish return to a big league mound just a few months later is just about the best outcome that could have been imagined. He had a huge breakout for the O’s last year, making 30 starts and finishing the year with a 2.83 earned run average. He struck out 25% of batters faced, walking opponents at a 6.6% rate while keeping 49.2% of balls in play on the ground. He finished fourth in American League Cy Young voting.
Getting that kind of production back in the rotation will be key for the Orioles, as their starting staff has been in constant flux this year. Both Bradish and John Means started the season on the injured list. Tyler Wells and Grayson Rodriguez have gone on the IL in recent weeks, though Means and Bradish have now both been activated. That leaves the club with a rotation of Bradish, Means, Corbin Burnes, Cole Irvin and Dean Kremer, with Albert Suárez likely bumped into a long relief role.
Despite the various injuries, the club has weathered the storm well. They are currently 19-11, one of the best records in baseball so far this year. Their starting staff has a collective ERA of 3.58 at the moment, which places them 10th in the majors.
The activation of Bradish will cost Ramírez his roster spot. It’s now possible that he will celebrate his birthday in DFA limbo, as he turns 29 on Monday. The righty has bounced around the league quite a bit in his career, having gone from the Mariners to the Guardians, Pirates, White Sox, Mets and Orioles over the past few years.
His stints with those last three clubs have each been fairly brief. The White Sox claimed him off waivers from the Pirates in September of last year. He was designated for assignment in December and traded to the Mets for cash. He lasted with the Mets through the winter but was designated for assignment just over a week into the season, going to the O’s in another cash deal.
Between the Mets and the Orioles, he has thrown 11 1/3 innings this year with an 8.74 ERA, though a lot of that ERA is due to a five-run outing for the Mets just before they cut him loose. He has struck out 22.2% of batters faced this year while walking 11.1%. He is out of options, so the only way for the O’s to clear him from the active roster was to remove him from the 40-man entirely.
They will now have a week to trade him or pass him through waivers. He now has a career ERA of 4.39 in 135 1/3 innings, going back to his 2020 debut. His 23.1% strikeout rate and 44.2% ground ball rate are both around league average, though his 12.4% walk rate is on the high side.
The Opener: Orioles, Buxton, Matz
As the 2024 regular season continues, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. Who will start today for the Orioles?
The Orioles are looking to secure a four-game series win over the Yankees after winning the first two games but dropping Game 3 last night. With the clubs tied for first in the AL East, the division lead is on the line. Baltimore has yet to announce who will take the mound opposite Yankees southpaw Carlos Rodon (2.48 ERA). The most obvious choice would be right-hander Kyle Bradish, who is expected to make his 2024 debut this week after missing the first five weeks of the season with a UCL sprain. The righty enjoyed a breakout 2023 season that saw him post a 2.83 ERA and 3.27 FIP across 30 starts en route to a fourth-place finish in AL Cy Young award voting.
Things could get tricky for the Orioles if Bradish isn’t ready to go yet. Recently activated lefty John Means would be on just three days of rest if he took the ball. The same goes for right-hander Albert Suarez. Left-hander Cole Irvin would be on regular rest, but he’s started just one game on regular rest this season and didn’t make it out of the fifth inning, allowing two runs in 4 2/3 innings against the Twins.
2. Buxton to undergo MRI:
Oft-injured Twins center fielder Byron Buxton could be staring down another trip to the injured list after he was pulled from yesterday’s game against the White Sox due to a bout of knee soreness. As noted by Bobby Nightengale of the Star Tribune, Buxton is set to undergo an MRI when the Twins return to Minneapolis today according to manager Rocco Baldelli. Buxton suffered the knee injury on an attempted steal of second base.
Buxton has hit .250/.300/.391 for an essentially average 99 wRC+. Even so, he’d be sorely missed by Minnesota in the event he requires a trip to the injured list. After all, his +3 Outs Above Average this season ranks in the 94th percentile per Statcast, making him a valuable player even with a league-average bat. Should Buxton require a trip to the shelf, the Twins would likely turn to Austin Martin in center field. The youngster hit .226/.294/.371 (93 wRC+) in his first taste of big league action earlier this season but was just optioned to Triple-A to make room for Carlos Correa.
3. Matz to undergo MRI:
Buxton isn’t the only player set to undergo imaging today, as The Athletic’s Katie Woo notes that Cardinals lefty Steven Matz is also set to receive an MRI. As noted by MLB.com’s Injury Tracker, the news regarding Matz comes on the heels of manager Oli Marmol noting that the lefty has been dealing with lower back tightness since a brutal seven-run, 4 1/3 inning start against the Diamondbacks on April 23.
The issue seemingly impacted Matz during his start in Detroit earlier this week, as his velocity was down while he allowed four runs in 3 1/3 innings of work on just 73 pitches before being removed from the game. Should Matz require a trip to the IL, the Cardinals could turn to lefty Zack Thompson to round out their rotation as they did while Sonny Gray was on the shelf earlier this season. Another option could be to call up a player on the 40-man roster who has not yet made their MLB debut, such as top prospect Sem Robberse, who’s out to a brilliant start in Triple-A.
MLBTR Podcast Mailbag: José Abreu Demoted, The Positional Surplus Myth, Erick Fedde’s Trade Value And More
The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.
This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…
- José Abreu agreeing to be optioned by the Astros (2:50)
- Upcoming knee surgery for Mike Trout of the Angels (5:05)
Plus, we answer your questions, including…
- Given that a surplus can quickly disappear with injuries, will teams be more reluctant to trade from positions of relative strength? (6:50)
- When will Jackson Jobe of the Tigers or Junior Caminero of the Rays be called up? (14:30)
- Is it true that the White Sox can’t pick higher than tenth in next year’s draft? (18:20)
- What is the current state of Tommy John surgery and longevity of pitchers after going under the knife? (22:00)
- When can a team trade a recently-signed free agent? (28:50)
- If Erick Fedde keeps pitching well, what kind of return could the White Sox get for him at the deadline? (30:50)
Check out our past episodes!
- Mailbag: Cardinals’ Troubles, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Bad Umpiring And More – listen here
- Free Agent Power Rankings, Shohei Ohtani’s Stolen Money And The A’s Moving To Sacramento – listen here
- Reviewing Our Free Agent Predictions And Future CBA Issues – listen here
The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff. Check out their Facebook page here!
The NL Rookie Of The Year Field Is Loaded
In my subscriber chat last week, a questioner asked which players I'd take as respective Rookies of the Year. While the race in both leagues could be interesting, the picture in the National League seems particularly fascinating. There are 10-15 players who could be legitimate threats for that award, a reflection both of an intriguing level of prospect talent and NL teams' signing of a handful of players out of foreign professional leagues last offseason.
Let's run through what is shaping up to be a strong class.
Jared Jones, Pirates RHP
Jones would be my pick for the most impressive rookie of the season's first month. The Pirates right-hander has followed up an excellent spring with a dominant six MLB starts. He owns a 3.18 ERA over 34 innings while striking out nearly 32% of batters faced. Jones has walked fewer than 4% of his opponents, and while he'll probably have a tough time maintaining quite that level, he's getting opposing hitters to flail aimlessly at stuff off the plate.
Among all major league pitchers with 20+ innings, only Sonny Gray and Jack Flaherty have a better strikeout/walk rate differential. No one is inducing swinging strikes at a higher clip. Jones has surpassed 120 innings in the minors in each of the last two seasons, so he shouldn't be on too strict a workload limit. The only quibble with his performance is an elevated 1.85 HR/9 rate, but the longball wasn't much of an issue in the minors. This didn't come out of nowhere -- the former second-round draftee entered the year as a Top 100 prospect and trendy Rookie of the Year pick -- but it would've been tough to predict this level of immediate dominance.
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Angels Release Aaron Hicks
The Angels have released Aaron Hicks, per the transaction log at MLB.com. That was the expected course of action once the Halos designated the veteran outfielder for assignment on Monday.
Assuming he clears release waivers, Hicks will become a free agent. That clearly wasn’t the way the Angels envisioned his tenure when they inked him to a major league deal over the winter. With the Yankees still responsible for Hicks’ salaries in the final two years of his contract, the Halos took a league minimum flier to add him to the big league bench. The switch-hitter had turned in a surprising .275/.381/.425 slash in 65 games with the Orioles after being released by New York last May.
The 34-year-old did not maintain that positive form in his month in Orange County. Hicks struck out in 23 of his 63 plate appearances as an Angel. He hit .140/.222/.193 overall, an even colder start than the .188/.263/.261 slash he’d had with the Yankees before his release last season. Despite Hicks’ productive stint in Baltimore, he has a below-average .224/.330/.330 batting line in 828 plate appearances going back to the start of 2022.
One day after designating Hicks for assignment, the Angels lost Mike Trout to a meniscus tear. They signed Kevin Pillar, himself recently DFA by the White Sox, to a major league deal. Pillar will back up the new starting trio of Taylor Ward, Mickey Moniak and Jo Adell in the Angel Stadium outfield.
As was the case for the Angels, any team willing to offer Hicks an MLB roster spot could do so at minimal cost. He’d be paid the prorated $740K league minimum for any time spent in the majors with New York on the hook for the bulk of the money.